How to write a Reel script

People avoid scripting because it sounds like it will make them wooden. What makes people wooden is reading. A script written the way you talk — and learned well enough to throw away — is what separates a video that holds someone from four minutes of footage you cut down to nothing.

Last updated 12 August 2026

Most people don’t script Reels because scripting sounds like it will make them wooden. What actually makes people wooden is reading. A script written the way you talk, learned well enough that you can throw it away, is the difference between a video that holds someone and four minutes of footage you cut down to nothing.

This is the structure, the word budget, and a worked example of turning a vague idea into something you can film in one take.

The word budget comes first

Before structure, arithmetic. Comfortable spoken pace for camera is roughly 2.5 words per second — a bit faster than conversation, slow enough to follow.

• 15 seconds → about 38 words
• 30 seconds → about 75 words
• 45 seconds → about 110 words
• 60 seconds → about 150 words

That is less than everyone expects. A 30-second Reel is one short paragraph. If your draft is 200 words and you want 30 seconds, you do not have a delivery problem, you have a script that is two videos.

Write to the count deliberately. Draft long, then cut to the number before you film, because cutting in the edit costs you the natural pacing.

The five-part structure

1. The hook (first 1–2 seconds, roughly 8–12 words)

One sentence that makes a specific promise or a specific claim. It has to work with the sound off, which means it also goes on screen as text. No greeting, no throat-clearing, no "in this video I’ll show you".

2. The stake (2–4 seconds, one sentence)

Why this matters to the person watching, right now. This is the part most scripts skip, and skipping it is why videos lose people at second four — the hook landed, then nothing arrived to justify staying.

3. The body (the bulk, 2–4 beats)

Each beat is one idea, one sentence or two, with a visual change at each boundary — a cut, a new angle, a graphic, a step forward. Beats are what keep a video from feeling like a monologue. Three is usually right; five is a different video.

4. The turn (one sentence)

The line that makes the video worth having watched: the counterintuitive bit, the consequence, the thing they can do tomorrow. If your video has no turn, it is a list, and lists get saved but not sent.

5. The close (one short sentence, optional)

Either a genuine invitation ("if you want the template, it’s in my bio") or nothing at all. "Follow for more" is not a close; it is the sound of a video ending badly. Often the strongest ending is to stop talking on the turn, which also loops cleanly.

The template

A worked example

Start with the sort of idea people actually have: "I want to make something about how my clients undercharge." That is a subject, not a script. Here it is filled in at 30 seconds, 74 words.

HOOK: “Your prices aren’t too high. Your proposal is too vague.”
STAKE: “This is why you keep losing jobs to someone charging more than you.”
BEAT 1: “A vague proposal makes the buyer do the maths on risk, and they always round up.”
BEAT 2: “Name the deliverable, the date, and what happens if it slips.”
BEAT 3: “Same price, on one page, with the risk removed.”
TURN: “People don’t pay more for better work. They pay more for less uncertainty.”
CLOSE: [cut on the turn]

Note what the structure forced: a claim that can be disagreed with, a reason to stay after two seconds, three beats that each earn a cut, and a final line worth sending to a colleague. None of that survives if you film it as "so today I wanted to talk about pricing".

The five things that kill a script

• Context before claim. Any sentence that sets up the sentence after it should be deleted and the second sentence promoted.
• Two ideas in one video. Cut the weaker one and post it Thursday.
• Words that only work written. Read the draft aloud once. Every phrase you stumble on gets rewritten in the words you used when you stumbled.
• No visual change for 15 seconds. The script should tell you where the cuts are. If it can’t, the beats aren’t distinct.
• An ending that asks instead of gives. The last thing they hear should be worth something.

Writing it in your own voice

The reason generic AI scripts sound generic is that they are written from the topic rather than from a recording of how you speak. If you want something that sounds like you, the input has to be you: your own past captions, your best-performing videos, the way you explain the thing to a client on a call.

That is the loop Runwave runs. It reads the reels performing in your niche, breaks down the structure underneath them, and writes that structure back as a script using a knowledge base built from your own material — so what comes out is a proven shape in your words, not a template in nobody’s.

Questions people actually ask

How many words is a 30-second Reel script?

About 75 words. Comfortable on-camera pace is roughly 2.5 words per second, so 15 seconds is about 38 words, 45 seconds about 110, and 60 seconds about 150. Draft long, then cut to the count before filming rather than in the edit.

What is the structure of a good Reel script?

Five parts: a hook that makes a specific claim in the first two seconds, a stake that says why it matters to the viewer, two to four body beats with a visual change at each boundary, a turn that delivers the payoff, and either a genuine invitation or a hard cut.

Should I read my Reel script on camera?

No. Write it, learn it well enough to deliver it without reading, then film. Reading is what makes people sound wooden — the script itself is what keeps the video tight.

Do I need to say 'follow for more' at the end?

No, and it usually weakens the ending. Either close with something the viewer gains, or cut on the payoff line, which also loops cleanly and lifts replays.

How do I stop my scripts sounding generic?

Write from how you actually explain the thing out loud, not from the topic. Read every draft aloud and replace any phrase you stumble over with the words you used when you stumbled.